Low-molecular-weight proteins as carriers for renal drug targeting

Apr 1, 1992 - Renal Targeting: Peptide-Based Drug Delivery to Proximal Tubule Cells. Bioconjugate Chemistry. Wischnjow, Sarko, Janzer, Kaufman, Beijer...
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J. Med. Chem. 1992,35, 1246-1259

Low Molecular Weight Proteins as Carriers for Renal Drug Targeting. Preparation of Drug-Protein Conjugates and Drug-Spacer Derivatives and Their Catabolism in Renal Cortex Homogenates and Lysosomal Lysates+ Eric J. F. Franssen,*y* Jaco Koiter,* Caroline A. M. Kuipers,*Andries P. Bruins,$Frits Moolenaar,* Dick de Zeeuw,ll Wim H. Kruizinga,l Richard M. Kellogg,l and Dirk K. F. Meijeri Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, University Center for Pharmacy, Ant. Deusinglaan 2, 9713 A W Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Mass Spectrometry, University Center for Pharmacy, Ant. Deusinglaan 1, 9713 A W Groningen, The Netherlands, Department of Nephrology, Academic Hospital, Oostersingel59, Groningen, The Netherlands, and Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Groningen, Nyenborgh 16, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands. Received September 27,1991 Low molecular weight proteins (LMWPs) are known to be reabsorbed and catabolized primarily by the proximal tubular cells of the kidneys. As such, LMWPs might serve as drug carriers that release drugs site-specifically in the kidney. We tested this concept in vitro by coupling different drugs to the LMWP lysozyme both directly (amide bond) and via different spacers: oligopeptides (amide bond), (poly-)a-hydroxyacids (ester bond), and a pH sensitive cis-aconityl spacer (amide bond). The capability of the kidney to release the parent drug from such drug-spacer derivatives and drug-LMWP conjugates by enzymatic or chemical hydrolysis of the bond was tested by incubation experiments in renal cortex homogenates and lysosomal lysates. Directly coupled conjugates of terminal carboxyl group containing drugs and lysozyme were catabolized to single amino acids, but did not result in release of the parent drug. The amide bond between the drug and the final amino acid (lysine) appeared to be stable in the incubation milieu. Different oligopeptide spacers coupled to the drugs showed similax results the oligopeptide itself was cleaved but the amide bond between the drug and different single amino acids remained untouched. Only amide bonds of derivatives of carboxylic drugs with peptide structures themselves were cleaved. Some of the directly coupled conjugates of terminal amino drugs and oligopeptides showed clear release of the parent drug whereas others were stable. Terminal amino drugs were rapidly released from an acid-sensitive cis-aconityl spacer. Terminal carboxyl group containing drugs were enzymatically released from their glycolic and lactic ester spacers at different rates. These kinds of drugs were also released as parent drug from LMWP conjugates with ester spacers like L-lactic acid. Increasing spacer length by intercalating a tetra@-lactic acid) molecule between the drug and the protein further increased the extent and rate of drug release, indicating increased accessability of the bond to the enzymes. Terminal amino group containing drugs were rapidly generated as parent drug from LMWP conjugates using an acid-sensitive spacer. In addition the conjugates were found to be adequately stable in plasma, considering their rapid clearance from the bloodstream. It is concluded that LMWPs may indeed be of use as carriers for specific renal delivery of drugs, since renal cortex homogenates and lysosomal lysates are able to catabolize the protein and generate the parent drug from drug-LMWP conjugates beariig suitable spacers. The option of enzymatic release is limited by the narrow specificity of the lysosomal enzymes. This has profound implications for the synthesis of suitable conjugates,since the nature of the drug itself, the type of bond, and also spacer length largely determine whether release of the parent drug will occur. Tailor-made spacers containing the correct mode of attachment and the right spacer length are required for thisoption. Chemical hydrolysis, using acid-sensitivelinkers, is suggested as a viable alternative approach.

Introduction The kidney is an especially suitable organ for drug targeting. Many therapeutic indications are often the result of chronic therapies with various drugs, examples being inflammation and urinary tract infections. Dose

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Symbols and abbreviations are in accordance with the recommendations of the IUPAC-IUB Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature (Eur. J. Biochem. 1984,138,9.). All amino acids have the L (S in Cahn-Ingold-Prelog system) c o n f i a t i o n unless otherwise noted. Other abbreviations used are as follows: ACN, acetonitrile; HAC,acetic acid; DMF, dimethylformamide; DMSO, dimethyl sulfoxide; DCC, dicyclohexylcarbodiimide; ECDI, ethy1-3-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]carbodiimide; Boc, tert-butyloxycarbonyl; NHS, N-hydroxysuccinimide; S-NHS, N hydroxysulfosuccinimide; TFA, trifluoroacetic acid; Z, benzyloxycarbonyl;Nap, naproxen; Indo, indomethacin; B, benzoic acid; LYSO, lysozyme; TEA, triethylamine; BSA, bovine serum albumin, TRIS, tris(hydroxymethy1)aminomethane; THF, tetrahydrofuran; PMB, pentamethylbenzyl; 4-DMAP, 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine;SM, sulfamethoxazole;aco-SM, N-cis-aconitylsulfamethoxazole;SM-aco-LYSO, N-cis-aconitylsulfamethoxezole linked to egg-white lysozyme (1:l); PBS, phosphate-buffered saline. Department of Pharmacology, University Centre for Pharmacy. $Department of Mass Spectrometry, University Centre for Pharmacy. Department of Nephrology, Academic Hospital. Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Groningen.

*

regimens of many of these drugs are accompanied by unwanted side effects.' The kidney itself is a well-perfused organ that is involved in the metabolism of many endogeneous and exogeneous compounds. One might expect that prodrug strategies could increase therapeutic indices of different drugs through selective transport to the kidney, followed by the generation of parent active drugs2 Various prodrug approaches have been described on the basis of more or less kidney-specific enzymes. Examples are y-glutamyltransferase (prodrugs: y-glutamyldopamide,3y-glutamylsulfameth~xazole~*~), and phosphatase (prodrug: N-methyldopamine 4-0-phosphate6). These (1) Donker, A. J. M.; Brentjes, J. R. H.; van der Hem, G. K.; Ariiz,

L. Treatment of the Nephrotic Syndrome with Indomethacin. Nephron 1978,22, 314. (2) Stella, V. J.; Himmelstein, K. J. Prodruga and Site-specific Drug Delivery. J. Med. Chem. 1980,23, 1275. (3) Minard, F. N.; Grant, D. S.; Cain, J. C.; Jones, P. H.; Kyncl, J. Metabolism of Gamma-glutamyl Dopamide. Biochem. Pharmacol. 1980,29,69. (4) Orlowski, M.; Mizoguchi, H.; Wilk, S. N-acyl-glutamyl Derivatives of Sulfamethoxazole as Models of Kidney-selective Prodrugs. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 1980,212, 167. (5) Drieman, J. C. Ph.D. Thesis: Drug Targeting to the Kidney: N-acetyl-L-gamma-glutamyl derivatives as kidney-selective prodrugs; Datawyse: Maastricht, 1989. (6) Casagrande, C.; Merlo, L.; Santangelo, F.; Doggi, F.; Gerli, F. N-Methyldopamine-4-O-phosphate,an Orally Active Renal Vasodilator. Communication presented at the X-th International Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry, Budapest, Hungary, 15-19 Aug, 1988.

0022-2623/92/1835-1246$03.00/00 1992 American Chemical Society

Carriers for Renal Drug Targeting

Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 1992, Vol. 35, No. 7 1247

Chart I. Model Compounds and Model Drugs with a Carboxyl Group"

Chart 11. Model Compounds and Model Drugs with a Primary Amino Group"

opt' NH2 C H 3 0d

C

O

O

H

CH30E

COOH 3

-

0

9

-2

-1

8

OModel compound 7 is 8-naphthylamine. Model drugs are 8, adriamycin; 9, triamterene; 10, sulfamethoxazole.

-

Scheme I. The N-Hydroxysuccinimide Reaction of Naproxen and the LMWP Lysozyme" 0 'lDCC

,

H 21 N.OH-sucentmlde

CH,O'

CH31)' COOH

LYSOZYME

A

"*pro"."

dlollnelbor~lebuller

~lDIOI.n~ICIIV~eIImr

me 5

"Model drugs are 1, naproxen; 2, indomethacin. Model compounds are 3, benzoic acid; 4, Z-Phe; 5, Z-Pro; Z-Ala-Pro. The unlabeled structure represents enalaprilate. lna~rox.nl~lytoz~me COII~UO~I.

enzymes are presumed to mediate drug generation in the kidney by cleavage of the prodrug moiety attached to the drug. However, kidney accumulation may be low due to binding to plasma proteins or limited transport to the kidney.5 Low molecular weight proteins (LMWP's) have attractive properties as potential renal selective and biodegradable drug carriers. These proteins are reported to accumulate extensively in the proximal tubule cells of the kidney and are subsequently hydrolyzed into their single amino acid constituenta in the lysosomes of these cells.'$ Furthermore, these proteins offer opportunities for covalent drug attachment owing to the presence of different functional reactive groups. For these reasons we decided to explore the potential of these proteins for renal drug targeting. As LMWP egg-white lysozyme (MW 14400 and isoelectricpoint of 11)was chosen. Lysozyme contains 149 amino acids and seven free amino groups. These groups are available for drug derivatization. For the synthesis of a suitable, kidney selective, drugprotein conjugate it is essential that the bond that links drug and carrier will be degradable; otherwise the active parent drug will not be generated. The lysosomal medium offers in principle several possibilitiesto cleave such bonds, either enzymatically or chemically. The lysosomes contain many different hydrolytic enzymes such as proteinases and esterases. The pH of the lysosomes is 4-!L9 In some cases it may be possible to couple the drug directly to the However, for other drugs (7) Mack, Th.; Johnson, V.; Kau, S. T.; Figuereido, J.; Sigulem, D. Renal Filtration, Transport and Metabolism of Low Molecular Weight Proteins: a Review. Kidney Znt. 1979,16,251. (8) Christensen, E. J.; Maunsbach, A. B. Intralysosomal Digestion of Lysozyme in Renal Proximal Tubule Cells. Kidney Znt. 1974,6,396. (9) Segal, H. L. Lysosomes in Biology and Pathology; Dingle, J. T., Ed.; North Holland Publ. Co.: Amsterdam, 1975; p 295.

Symbol x denotes various degrees of drug substitution.

suitable biodegradable spacers between drugs and carrier are reported to be essential for drug generation.12J3 The nature of both drug and carrier, as well as the metabolic capacity in a specific target-cell, are factors which will determine the specific type of spacer. The purpose of the present study is to inventory different drug-LMWP conjugates with regard to their capacity tQ act as suitable substrates for renal catabolism and parent-drug release. Various model compounds were selected on the basis of their coupling potential with proteins or spacers, as well as their potential biodegradability. These model compounds included both drugs with a terminal carboxylic group and drugs with a terminal amino group (Charts I and 11). As model bonds we examined a direct amide linkage to the protein (carboxylic group attached to the camino group of lysine), an indirect amide bond via oligopeptide spacers, ester bonds, and an acidlabile amide bond. Amide and ester derivatives with spacer Fiume, L.; Mattioli, G.; Spinoza. Distribution of a Conjugate of 9-beta-D-Arabinofuranosyladenine5'-Monophosphate (Ara-AMP) with Lactosaminated Albumin in Parenchvmal A d Sinusoidal Cells in Rat Liver. Cancer Drug Del. 19i7.4, 11.

Molema, G.;Jansen, R. W.; Pauwels,R.; De Clercq, E.; Meijer, D. K. F. Targeting of Antiviral Drugs to T-4 lymphocytes. Anti-HIV Activity of Neoglycoprotein-AZTMP Conjugates in vitro. Biochem. Pharmacol. 1990,40,2603. Ryser, H. J. P.; Shen, W. C. Drug-Poly(1ysine) Conjugates: Their Potential for Chemotherapy and for the Study of Endocytosis. In Targeting of Drugs with Synthetic Systems; Gregoriadis, G., Ed.; Plenum: New York, 1986,p 103. Duncan, R.; Cable, H. C.; Lloyd, J. B.; Rejmanova, P.; Kopacek, J. Polymers Containing EnzymaticallyDegradable Bonds; Design of Oligopeptide Side-chains in Poly[N-(2-hydroxyDrow1)methacrvlamidel Co~olwlers.Makrom. Chem. 1983.

1248 Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 1992, Vol. 35, No. 7 A

Franssen et al.

I*

331

I

LYSO

2L 200 G

250

285 300

350

300

350

t 0

m u. I

I

1

200

250

Aex (nm)

Figure 1. Excitation-fluorescence spectra, measured a t an emission wavelength of 360 nm, of (panel A) naproxen, (panel B) lysozyme, and (panel C) (naproxen),-lysozyme. The degree of drug substitution can be measured a t excitation wavelength 330 nm and emission wavelength 360 nm.

candidates, mainly natural a amino acids or oligopeptides, were synthesized. Since these products may be regarded as potential catabolytes in the metabolism of a drugprotein conjugate, these compounds were studied with respect to parent active drug generation in renal cortex homogenates and lysosomal lysates. Thereafter cleavable drug-spacer derivatives could be selected for further coupling to the protein. These conjugates were also tested in these systems. Results Preparation and Characterization of Conjugates and Model Drug Derivatives. Conjugates and derivatives of the model compounds and model drugs are listed in Tables I and 11. The model drug naproxen (1, Chart I) was coupled to the LMWP lysozyme by reaction of the carboxyl group with the free amino functionalities of the protein. (Derivatives of 1 and other compounds are indicated further in the text and tables by a letter following the number of the parent compound). Coupling procedures examined included a water-soluble-carbodiimide method using ECDI by the method of Davis14 and reactions of the acid chloride derivative and N-hydroxy- and N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide derivatives of 1. The Nhydroxysuccinimide (NHS) method was found to be superior. Criteria were the degree of substitution, yield of soluble protein conjugate, coupling efficiency,and protein cross-linking. For the NHS coupling procedure16(Scheme (14) Davis, M-T.B.; Preaton, J. F. A Simple Modified Carbodiimide Method for Conjugation of Small-Molecular-Weight-Compounds to Immunoglobulin G with Minimal Protein CrosSlinking. Anal. Biochem. 1981, 166, 402. (15) Anderson, G. W.; Zimmerman, J. E.;Callahan, F. M. The Use of Esters of N-Hydroxysuccinimide in Peptide Synthesis. J. Am. Chem. SOC.1964,86,1839.

elution time (rnin)

-

Figure 2. Separation of naproxen-lysozyme (1:l) from unreacted native lysozyme by FPLC-cationic exchange chromatography. Naproxen is monitored by specific fluorescence detection; lysozyme is monitored by UV detection (Azso).

I) optimal conditions were determined by varying molar ratios and concentrations of reactants, composition of coupling buffer [i.e. ratio of organic component (dioxane) and aqueous component (borate buffer)], and pH of the coupling buffer. The influence of the nature of the protein was investigated by also coupling 1 to bovine serum albumin. The optimal solvent system was a 1,4-dioxane/ borate buffer, pH 8.5 (20/80). Variation of the molar ratios of reactants resulted in conjugates with different molar drug:protein ratios. Up to six molecules of 1 to one molecule lysozyme could be incorporated. The yield of soluble lysozyme conjugates appeared to be limited by precipitation of highly substituted products. Coupling of 1 to BSA resulted in products with a molar coupling ratio of up to 18. The yields of soluble albumin conjugates were more than 95% (Table 111). Peptide spacers were intercalated by initially linking the drug to the oligopeptide spacer (1b-e). The drug-peptide derivative was then coupled to the protein by the Nhydroxysuccinimide procedure whereby the terminal carboxylic acid group is linked to the amino groups of the protein. This is illustrated for the ethyl ester of L-leucine in Scheme 11. Unreacted or noncovalently bound drug(-spacer) was removed by dialysis, ultrafiltration, and gel-exclusion chromatography. Unreacted lysozyme could be removed by a subsequent cationic-exchangeseparation procedure. Examples of the fluorescence monitoring and FPLC separations are given in Figures 1and 2. Separation was possible on the basis of the slight charge difference between conjugated and native lysozyme. Amide forma-

Carriers for Renal Drug Targeting

Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 1992, Vol. 35, No. 7 1249

Table I. In Vitro Cleavage Data for Terminal Carboxyl Group Containing Model Compounds and Model Drugs synthesis and HPLC analysis % drug release after 24-h incubationc compound S HPLC system, % observed n0.O tRa (min) yield DH 5 DH 7.4 P H5 H7.4 L5 L7.4 catabolvted name no. S s s s s s s Ia, 11.8 naproxen (Nap) 1 Ib, 9.6 11, 25.8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 c-Nap-Lye s7 60 la Nap-LYSO 99 (VIIb) Sa-I11 367 (MH'), 384 (M*NH4+) 366 >99 (VIIb) 408 ([M - Hl-) 10a >99 (XI 409 "Products are listed in Tables I and 11. bTabulated parent peaks are the observed molecular ions in the electron-impact or quasi-molecular ions observed in chemical ionization (CI-MS) mass spectra or ionspray mass spectra of the products. 'Purity of the products is tabulated as establiihed by HPLC. HPLC system numbers are in Roman numerals in parentheses and are described in the Experimental Section. Individual retention times are listed in Tables I and 11.

the protein were determined by the method of Habeeb.lG From these data the amount of reacted amino groups was calculated; the result, as is shown in Table IV, obviously corresponds with the amide formation with 1 and the molar degree of substitution. These three methods provide similar results and can be independently used for drug substitution measurements. Additional data with respect to the degree of substitution of conjugates with peptide spacers could be obtained by quantitative amino acid analysis (data not shown). From SDS-PAGE and gel filtration experiments the absence of polymerized protein was ascertained (not shown). The N-hydroxysuccinimidemethod was also used in the synthesis of many of the amino acid derivatives of the carboxylic model compounds lg-p, 2a-g, 3a-h, and 6a). Selective protection of the a-amino group of lysine with a Z group was used in the preparation of e-naproxen-lysine (If). Deprotection was performed using catalytic reduction with Pd/H2. Deprotection did not influence the nature of the parent drug. The ester derivatives (lq-r) were synthesized from the acid chloride derivative of 1. The products were purified by preparative HPLC (Table V). Ester derivatives of 1 were also prepared on larger scale by condensation with DCC. The a-hydroxy acids were initially protected by a pentamethylbenzyl (PMB) group. h r condensation and purification of unreacted reactants, (16) Habeeb, A. F. S. A. Determination of Free Amino Groups in Proteins by Trinitribenzenesulfonic Acid. Anal. Biochem. 1966, 14, 328.

>99 >99 >99 >99 >99 >99 >99 >99 >99 >99 >99 >99 >99 >99 >99 >99 >99 >99 >99 >99

this group was selectively removed by treatment with cold TFA in the presence of anisole. The anisole served to scavenge PMB cations which otherwise reacted with the aromatic nucleus of 1. The naproxen-L-lactic acid derivative was further coupled to the lysines of lysozyme (1s) by a sivlilar N-hydroxysuccinimideprocedure. To examine the influence of spacer length, a tetra(L-lactic acid) spacer was intercalated by a similar procedure (It). Coupling of amino acids to the amino group model drugs was also performed by the N-hydroxysuccinimidemethod. Because of the reported leucine amino-peptidase activity in the lysosomes we decided to synthesize leucine-drug derivatives.20 Protection of the amino acid (leucine)with a Boc group was necessary. The Boc group could be removed by the addition of TFA. After coupling and deprotection of Boc-Leu-NHS with triamterene, three different products resulted with an m/z ratio corresponding (17) Trouet, A.; Baurain, R. Targeting of Antitumour and Antiprotozoal Drugs by Covalent Linkage to Protein Carriers. In Targeting of Drugs;Plenum Press: New York, 1982; p 19. (18) Shen, W. C.; Ryser, H. J. P.; La Manna, L. Disulfide Spacer between Methotrexate and Poly-(D-lysine). A Probe for Exploring the Reductive Process in Endocytosis. J. Biol. Chem. 1985,260, 10905. (19) Shen, W. C.; Ryser, H. J. P. Conjugation of Poly-L-Lysine to Albumin and Horseradish Peroxidase: A Novel Method of Enhancing the Cellular Uptake of Proteins. Roc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 1978, 75, 1872. (20) Masquelier, M.; Baurain, R.; Trouet, A. Amino acid and Dipeptide Derivatives of daunorubicin. 1. Synthesis, Physicochemical Properties and Lysosomal Digestion. J. Med. Chem. 1980,23, 1166.

Franssen et al.

1252 Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 1992, Vol. 35,No. 7 1

A

n

t

I\-

1'

!

I\

I

3 50

10

20

30

mh.

+

m l a 254

s

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lrlamlerene

20

30

I

40

w+oi

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40

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mh. +

f I] t IO 20 30 40 50 mn Figure 3. Example of product identification and purification by fractionated HPLC. The chromatographic pattern of the reaction mixture containing Leu-triamterene is shown (cp. 9a1-111). Three different products (cp. Sa-1-111) were identified, separated, and isolated. Producta are detected both by UV (254 nm) (panel A) and ion intensity (panels B and C).

to Leu-triamterene (Sa-1-111, Figure 3). Reactions of the NHS esters of the protected amino acids with primary aromatic amino acid groups were either very slow (triamterene) or did not occur at all (sulfamethoxazole, not shown). An acid-sensitive amide derivative of sulfamethoxazole was obtained by a reaction with cis-aconitic anhydride (loa). This derivative was further coupled to lysozyme (lob) through the y-carboxyl group of the spacer molecule. I n Vitro Cleavage Studies in Renal Cortex Homogenates and Lysosomal Lysates. Cleavage data for the conjugates and derivatives of the model compounds and model drugs are listed in Tables I and II and are presented as percentage of released parent compound after 24 h of incubation. The catabolytes observed ultimately after incubation in lysosomal lysate are listed in the final column. Cleavage studies were carried out by incubating protein conjugates or drug derivatives with renal cortex homogenates or purified lysosomal lysates. Carboxypeptidase and aminopeptidase activities were estimated from the model compounds 4a, Sa, 7a, and 7b. Specific activities of the renal cortex homogenates were (nmols-lnmg-' protein): 0.47 (Sa) and 0.092 (7a). Specific activities of the lyeosomal lysates were (nm~l.s-~*mg' protein) 0.80 (Sa) and 0.062 (7a). The lysosomal lysates showed a 5-6 times enrichment of lysosomal enzymes as determined by the lysosomal enzyme marker acid phosphatase. Incubations with the renal homogenates were performed at pH 5.0 and 7.4 to mimic lysosomal and cytosolic digestion, respectively. The cleavage data for the terminal carboxyl group containing model compounds after 24 h are shown in Table I. Although incubation of the 1-lysozyme conjugates (la-e) with the homogenates did not reveal any detectable 1,catabolytes with a single amino acid were observed, e.g. NapLys and Nap-Leu. In this respect all 1-amino acid spacers always resulted in catabolytes with the one single terminal amino acid as ultimate catabolyte (If-p). In addition, incubation did not lead to any other detectable metabolites of 1, such as 6-desmethylnaproxenin either conjugated (as sulfate or glucuronide) or unconjugated form. Similar observations were made when indomethacin and benzoic acid were used as model drugs (cp. 2a-h and 3a-h).

24

1 time (h)

Bi

B2

24 time (h)

0

30

60

time (min)

Figure 4. Drug release versus time profile after incubating naproxen-glycolicacid (10 p M A) and naproxen-L-lactic acid (10 p M B1 and B2)with lsgoeomal lysate,pH 5.0, . ;lysosomal lysate, pH 7.4, 0;plasma, pH 7.4, *; blank, pH 5.0, 0.

On the other hand the model compounds ZPhe-Ala (cp. 4a), Z-Pro-Phe (cp. Sa),and Z-Ala-Pro-Phe (cp. 6a) were rapidly degraded to their parent forms (within 1h). The ester derivatives of naproxen (cp. l q and lr) were rapidly cleaved in homogenate and lysosomal lysate at pH 5.0. Figure 4 shows the drug release versus time profiles of equimolar amounts (10 p M ) of the glycolic and L-lactic derivatives in the cortex homogenates at pH 5.0. An 81% release of the naproxen from the glycolic spacer occurs within 24 h, whereas, within 30 min, 100% of the naproxen is released from the L-lactic acid spacer. In plasma and also in the homogenate and lysate at pH 7.4., these compounds were rather stable: 8% and 13% release, respectively, within 24 h. Further coupling to lysozyme of lr resulted in a decreased rate of naproxen regeneration. Increasing the spacer length by intercalating additional L-lactic acid subunita resulted in a 6-fold increase in drug regeneration. The cleavage data for the terminal amino group containing model drugs are shown in Table 11. The leucine amino acid derivatives of the amino model compounds @-naphthylamine(7a) and adriamycine (8) were cleaved to their parent form. However, Leu-triamterene was found to be stable after 24 h of incubation. The cis-aconitic amide derivative of sulfamethoxazole (loa) was found to be cleavable after incubation and resulted in the parent sulfamethoxazole. Its corresponding lysozyme derivative was also found to be cleavable (lob).

Discussion The N-hydroxysuccinimide procedure appears to be a convenient method for drug-protein conjugation and the

Carriers for Renal Drug Targeting

synthesis of many drug-oligopeptide derivatives. Furthermore, since the drug or its spacer derivative is converted to an NHS ester derivative in the absence of protein, intra- or intermolecular cross-linking does not occur. Estimation of drug content after coupling to the protein can be done by HPLC after its acid or alkaline hydrolysis from the conjugates. This method also allows discrimination between covalently and noncovalently bound drug. Renal cortex homogenates and lysosomal lysates were used to study degradation of conjugates and drug-spacer derivatives. This method allowed a rapid screening of catabolytes of different compounds and may be used as an initial probe prior to determination of in vivo pharmacokinetics of protein-drug conjugates. Both preparations showed pronounced carboxypeptidase and aminopeptidase activity. However, in vitro cleavage studies per se may be limited by factors related to purification artefacts. These factors are, for instance, inactivation of enzymes by the isolation procedure, or lack of essential cosubstratea. In this study we tried to limit these shortcomings by incubating with both complete cortex homogenates as well as purified lysosomal lysates. A direct linkage of the carboxylic acid model drug 1to lysozyme resulted in the generation of c-1-lysine as ultimate catabolyte (la). Obviously such c-amide bonds are not well-recognized by or are poorly accessable for the hydrolases. Intercalation of oligopeptide spacers was expected to result in physiologically more readily cleavable a-amide bonds and improvement of the accessability toward lysosomal en2ymes.l' However, also intercalation of some oligopeptide spacers resulted in catabolytes with a single amino acid bound to the drug (1b-e). Again neither free 1nor other metabolites were observed. Obviously, the choice of a suitable type of spacer (i.e. type of amino acids and spacer length) is very critical and is dependent on the availability of selective proteolytic enzymes in the lysosomes. Therefore we decided to study the cleavability of individual model drug-amino acid compounds. These derivatives may be regarded as catabolytes, which are formed during proteolysis in lysosomes and ultimately have to release parent active drug for successful drug targeting. The amino acids tested varied in their properties with respect to hydrophobicity (Leu > Val > Gly), presence of aromatic side chains (Trp, Tyr, Phe), and charge (Glu, Arg). The e-drug-lysine derivatives may be regarded as models for COOH-containingcompounds directly linked to amino group side chains of proteins. However, amino acid and tripeptide derivatives of naproxen did not result in the generation of 1 or its main metabolite 6desmethylnaproxen, but rather in the formation of 1 attached to a single amino acid (lg-p). Moreover, all the a-amide linkages of the carboxyl group containing model compounds 1-3 with the selected natural amino acids appeared to be resistant to enzymatic hydrolysis. Only in the exceptional case that the model drug itself contained a natural amino acid, as is shown by the testing of model compounds Z-Phe-Ala (4a), Z-pro-Phe (Sa), and Z-AlaPro-Phe (6a), was the parent compound generated. Obviously the carboxypeptidasesin the kidney are quite specific and this will limit formation of the active parent drug in the case of a direct linkage of the drug to the protein but also after linkage of the drug to a peptide spacer. Metabolism of such conjugates may lead to oligopeptide catabolytes, which will not further degrade to their active parent forms. However, in particular cases, as has been reported for some cytostatic drugs, these fragments may still have some of the activity of the parent form and therefore such conjugates may still be of use in

Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 1992, Vol. 35, No. 7 1253

selective drug In support of this idea, we found a clear antiinflammatory activity of the ultimate catabolyte of the 1-lysozyme conjugate cnaproxen-lysine.21 Therefore we conclude that for nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID's) and other structurally related agents, a peptide spacer concept is no guarantee for rapid and efficient liberation of the parent drug. Moreover, on pharmacokinetic grounds, rapid digestion seems strongly required for these kinds of drugs. These carboxyl group containing drugs are weak acids and are therefore in an uncharged lipophilic form at low pH values. Also the generated oligopeptide catabolytes are weak acids, and since the pHs in the lysosomal and cytosolic compartment are reported to be 4-5 and 7.4, respectively, these catabolytes may rapidly leave the lysosomal compartment to the cytosolic compartment in their nonionized form by passive diffusion and thereby possibly escape lysosomal digestion. Our observations concerning release of amino acid fragments of NSAID's in the kidney are in agreement with the observations of Renard et aLZ2concerning the catabolism of a model compound for penicillin V in the liver. In this study Boc-D-Pro-Ala was studied as model compound for penicillins in liver lysosomal extracts and in contrast to Boc-L-Pro-Alaincubations, which result in a 70% release of free Ala, only 7% of free Ala was released after a 24-h incubation. Furthermore these authors also examined some derivatives of penicillins with amino acids, which were also found to be resistant to enzymatic hydrolysis. Only in exceptional cases of peptide type drugs, as is shown by model cornpounds 4a-6a, may an amide linkage cleave to provide the parent drug. On the other hand, the drug itself has to be stable in the lysosomal compartment. In this respect, our model compound 6a seems very interesting. Apparently, this small peptide is selectively cleaved by kidney prolinases between proline and phenylalanine; the ultimate catabolyte is Z-Ala-Pro,which itself is not further degraded by the proteolytic enzymes. Since the parent compound 6, Z-Ala-Pro, shows remarkable structural similarity with the potent angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor enalaprilate, the peptide spacer concept seems promising for these kinds of drugs (Chart 111). Since for many of the carboxyl group containing drugs obviously an amide bond will not lead to generation of the parent drug, we examined the use of an ester bond. Glycolic acid and L-lactic acid derivatives of 1 were rapidly cleaved by esterases in the lysosomal lysates. Further coupling of the L-lactic acid derivative lr by its free carboxyl group to the lysines of lysozyme gave rise to conjugate Is, obviously more resistant to enzymatic attack in the lysosomes. We hypothesized that the ester bond is le&s accesaable for the esterases. Chain lengthening by intercalating a tetra(clactic acid) spacer indeed made the bond more susceptible for enzymatic attack (It). This observation that spacer length is critical for enzymatic attack of ester bonds in renal lysosomes is analogous to those reported by Trouet et al. for amide bonds in liver lysosome~.~'Further, these ester LMWP conjugates are sufficiently stable in plasma. LMWPs are rapidly cleared (21) Franssen, E.J. F.; Van Amsterdam, R. G. M.; Visser, J.; De Zeeuw, D.; Meijer, D. K. F. Low Molecular Weight Proteins as Carriers for Renal Drue Tareetine: NaDroxen-Lvsozvme. Pharm. Res. 1991,8,12i3. (22) Renard. C.: Michel. A.: Tulkens. P. M. Hvdrolvsis of Pro-Ala dipeptides by L+m& Hydrolases. Mohels f& the Study of Lysosomotropic Amino acid Prodrugs of Penicillins. J. Med. Chem. 1986,29,1291.

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1254 Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 1992, Vol. 35,No. 7

Chart IIIO R.

0

R.

0

-sa

a Amide derivatives of model compounds and model drugs with a carboxyl group are not cleaved by carboxypeptidases present in the renal cortex homogenates and lysosomal lysates. Only such derivatives of amino acid containing models (like derivative 6a of model compound 6) are cleaved by pepidases or amidases (bottom structure represents enalaprilate). Ester derivatives of these compounds are cleaved by carboxyesterases.

Chart IVa

a Amide derivatives of model compounds and model drugs with a primary amino group are cleaved by aminopeptidases present in the renal cortex homogenates and lysosomal lysates or the drug is released from an acid sensitive cis-aconityl spacer.

from the bloodstream by glomerular filtration. In case of an intravenous injection of 10 mg native lysozyme in rats, the plasma clearance is 1.2 mLmin-'. Roughly 50% of this dose is reabsorbed in the kidneys and locally metabolized; 50% of the dose is excreted as unchanged protein in the urine (recovered within 2 h after injection). Therefore, exposure to plasma esterases during transport to the kidney will be very short. In this respect, plasma stability of various ester derivatives of benzoic acid as model compounds were examined by Bundgaard.23 These were also found to be stable. In conclusion, these drug-proteins, equipped with ester spacers, release parent drug in contrast to their amide spacer equipped analogues. Thus these conjugates are suitable candidates for the renal drug targeting issue. In contrast to the carboxyl group containing model drugs, the amino group containing model drug derivatives Leu-@-naphthylamineand Leu-adriamycine release their parent drug during lysosomal incubation. Apparently, these compounds can be cleaved by the aminopeptidases in the kidney. However, leucine derivatives of triamterene (9a-I, -11, and -111) were not cleaved by the lysosomal enzymes in the cortex of the kidney. We conclude that for the model drugs the aminopeptidases in the kidney exhibit a broader specificity than (23) Bundgaard, H. Design of Prodrugs: Bioreversible Derivatives for Various Functional Groups and Chemical Entities. In Design of Prodrugs; Bundgaard, H., Ed.; Elsevier, New York, 1985, pp 1-91.

Franasen et al.

the carboxypeptidases. Therefore, a peptide spacer concept seems promising for various amino group terminal drugs. This conclusion is further supported by the fact that several oligopeptide spacers indeed have been described for some compounds with a terminal amino group. For example, for the cytostatic drug daunorubicin (DNR) the tetrapeptide spacer Ala-Leu-Ala-Leu-DNRhas been described. Incubation with liver lysosomal lysates resulted primarily in several oligopeptide catabolytes, which were ultimately cleaved by aminopeptidases to provide parent daunorubicin." Moreover, catabolytes like Leu-daunorubicin and Leu-adriamycin will enzymatically degrade to their parent form, as has been shown in liver lysosomal preparationsmand in suspensions of rabbit renal proximal tubules.% Note that a biodegradable pentapeptide spacer Gly-Phe-Leu-Gly-Phehas been described for the model compound p - n i t r ~ a n i l i n e . ' ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ However, extrapolation of cleavage studies of oligopeptide spacer-model compounds to other drugs may be limited by the nature of the drug itself. In our study this is exemplified by the observed lack of generation of free triamterene from ita leucine derivatives, in spite of the fact that theae derivatives show some structural similarity with leucine-@-naphthylamine(Le. also a primary aromatic amine function, Chart 11). Only the latter model compound is converted to parent naphthylamine. Furthermore, it has been reported by Lloyd et aLZ7that a polymer-bound oligopeptide that readily released the drug analogue p-nitroaniline failed to release another structurally related but unspecified drug. The peptide spacer concept for these drugs is also interesting from the pharmacokineticviewpoint. In contrast to their acid carboxyl group containing counterparts., the amino terminal fragments generated may become entrapped in the lysosomal compartments, aince they are predominantly in their ionized form at pH 5, restricting passage of the lysosomal membrane. This means in principle a prolonged exposure to lysosomal digestion and therefore a higher chance of parent drug generation. To overcome problems related to enzyme specificity,an acid-labile spacer may be of use. Use of available spacers have been limited to that as coupling agent for the amino group compounds. In this concept, the drug is expected to be released from the spacer in the acid environment of the endosomes and lysosomes; enzymatic activity is not required for drug release. An acid-labile amide bond for the cytostatic drug daunorubicin has been described by Shen et al.= In the present study, this concept is supported by the rapid release of sulfamethoxazolefrom lysozyme using the same acid-sensitive linker (lob). Therefore the option of a hydrolytically labile bond is attractive for these kinds of drugs. (24) Hjelle, J. T.; Baurain, R.; Maquelier, M.;Trouet, A. Cellular Pharmacology of Amiio Acid Derivativesof Daunorubicinand Doxorubicin in Suspension of Renal Proximal Tubules. J . Phormacol. Erp. Ther. 1984,229, 372. (25) Duncan, R;Cable, H. C.; Lloyd, J. B.; Ftejmanova, P.; Kopacek, J. Degradation of Side-chains of N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide Copolymers by Lysosomal Thiol Proteases. Biosci. Rep. 1982, 2, 1041. (26) Duncan, R.; Lloyd, J. B. Degradation of Side-chains of N-(2hydroxypropy1)methacrylamide Copolymers by Lysosomal Enzymes. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 1990, 94, 284. (27) Lloyd, J. B.; Duncan, R.; Kopecek, J. Synthetic Polymers as Targetable Carriers for Drugs. Pure Appl. Chem. 1984,56, 1301. (28) Shen, W.C.; Ryser, J. P. Cis-aconityl Spacer between Daunomycin and MacromolecularCarriers: a Model of pH-sensitive Linkage Releasing Drug from a Lysoeomotropic Conjugate. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 1981,102, 1048.

Carriers for Renal Drug Targeting

General Conclusions Characterization of drug-LMWP conjugates requires proper analysis of both protein and drug content. Drug content estimation after its coupling to a LMWP can be performed by HPLC methods after alkaline or acid hydrolysis of the conjugates. In addition these methods can also discriminate between covalently and noncovalently bound drug. For the synthesis of suitable drug-LMWP conjugates it is essential that the bond between the drug and the protein is degradable in the renal lysosomes. Otherwise no parent drug will be regenerated. We have shown that the option of enzymatic cleavage of such bonds is limited by the narrow specificity of the renal lysosomal enzymes. This clearly restricts the number of drugs and types of bonds. Tailor-made spacers are required for this option of drug release. The option of chemical hydrolysis using acid-sensitive linkers is therefore an attractive alternative approach. For drugs with carboxyl groups,spacers with ester bonds are required for drug release. Esterases are capable of cleaving such bonds. Increasing spacer length makes the bond more accessable for the enzymes. In general for these kinds of drugs amide bonds are not cleaved by renal carboxypeptidases. Amide bonds are only suitable for use with drugs with peptide structures themselves. Whether aminopeptidases will be capable of cleaving amide bonds of amino group containing drugs will be dependent on the nature of the drug itself. For drugs with terminal amino groups, an acid-sensitive amide linkage is an attractive alternative. Experimental Section Chemicals and Reagents. All chemicals and reagents were of synthetic or analytical grade, as were all chemicals for HPLC purification and analysis. Water for HPLC analysis was of Millipore quality. Naproxen, lysozyme (3X crystallized, grade I), (protected) amino acids and oligopeptides, Leu-naphthyhde, and Gly-Phe-naphthylamide were purchased from Sigma. Leuadriamycin and Gly-Leu-adriamycin were donated by C. Hoes (Organon B.V., Ow, The Netherlands). Tetra(clactic acid) (Mu (estimated mean molecular weight) = 315; Pu (estimated average number of contituents) = 4.2) was supplied by D. Grijpma (Department of Polymer Chemistry, University of Groningen). Synthesis. General. The following procedures will be used for description of compounds and procedures. The synthetic procedures for the preparation of the various naproxen intermediates are described below. The identity and purity of the compounds were checked by 'H NMR, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. The identity and purity of native proteins and their drug conjugates were established by SDS-PAGE and FPLC chromatography (Pharmacia). Relevant drug substitution data are tabulated in Tables I11 and IV. Drug-spacer derivatives were prepared on either a large or a small scale. Large-scale syntheses are described below. Products of the small-scale synthesis ( G O pmol of model compound or model drug) were obtained by fractionated HPLC, after evaluating the chromatographic patterns of the reaction mixtures together with those of corresponding blank syntheses (i.e. without the presence of the spacer in the reaction vial). General procedures: Sl-S7 refer to Tables I and 11. Each general procedure was used for the preparation of those derivatives listed under this heading in Tables I and 11. Those compounds not bearing an S number in Tables I and 11were either purchased or the synthesis is described below. Each such derivative was identified by mass spectrometry of the pure compound or combined HPLC/mass spectrometry (LC-MS). In all cases the observed parent peak corresponded to the theoretical molecular mass of the derivative. Identity and purity of the miniscale products are tabulated in Table V. Melting points were measured on a Heidolph-Schwabach 30 melting point apparatus (Hilversum). Infrared spectra were recorded on a Jasco A-100 and UV spectra on a PU 8700 UV/VIS scanning spectrophotometer(Philips). Fluorescence spectra were

Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 1992, Vol. 35, No. 7 1255

measured on a SLM-Aminco 5OOC apparatus. 'H NMR spectra were taken at 60 MHz on a Perkin-Elmer or a JEOL (2-60 HL and at 300 MHz on a Varian VXR 300. E1 and CI mass spectra were obtained on a Finnigan 3300 instrument. A Nermag R 3010 triple quadrupole m888 spectrometer equipped with an ion spray interfaceB was used for LC-MS. Chromatographic separations by means of high-performance liquid chromatography were performed on a HPLC system with a pBondapack C-18 column (Waters/Millipore Corp., Milford, MA). The system was equipped with an autoinjector (WISP), UV detector (Waters 440), and a fluorescence detector (Waters470). The various eluent conditions for the different derivatives are described in the chromatography section. Individual retention times are listed in Tables I and 11. 6-Desmethylnaproxen (6-DMN). Naproxen was dried (vacuum, 70 "C) and 230 mg (1 mmol) was suspended in 10 mL of a 47% HBr solution. The suspension was refluxed for 1h under a nitrogen atmosphere whereupon a clear solution was obtained. Upon cooling on ice a precipitate was formed; this was filtered, washed with ice/water, and crystallizedfrom MeOH/EtOH/water. 'H NMR, IR, and mass spectrometry for 6-desmethylnaproxen were in agreement with the literature.30 Naproxen N-Hydroxysuccinimide Ester (Nap-NHS). Naproxen (1.725 g, 7.5 mmol) was dissolved in 50 mL of dichloromethane and DCC (2.063 g, 10 mmol) was added. The solution was stirred for 15 min. Thereafter NHS (1.150 g, 10 mmol), dried at 50 OC in vacuo for 24 h, was added; the mixture was stirred for 24 h. After fitration of the precipitate the filtrate was evaporated in vacuo and the residue was washed with dry heptane. The residue was dissolved in ethyl acetate, filtered, evaporated in vacuo, and crystallized from dichloromethane/ hexane to afford Nap-NHS in 91% yield ( n = 4). Identity and purity were verified by 'H NMR, 13C NMR, MS, HPLC, and elemental analysis. 'H NMR (CDC13): 6 7.8-7.1 (m, 6, aromatic H),4.19 (9, 1, CHMe), 3.91 (8, 3, CH30), 2.80 (8, 4, -CH,CH,-, (NHS)), 1.71 (d, 3, CH3C). 13CNMR (CDC13): S 18.7 (CHd, 25.3 (CHJ, 42.7 (CH), 55.1 (CHd, 105.4 (CH), 119.0 (CH), 125.7 (CH), 126.1 (CH), 127.3 (CHI, 128.6 (Cq), 129.1 (CH), 133.1 (Cq), 133.7 (Cq), 157.6 (Cq), 168.8 (Cq), 169.8 (Cq). IR (KBr): 1715, 1775, 1810, absence of broad peak at 3400-3050 cm-' (OH). CI-MS: m / z 328 (MH+),345 (M NH4+),theoretical MW = 327. Purity > 99.5% as established by HPLC (system Ia): t R = 24.0 min. Mp: 112-114 OC. Anal. (CleH17N05): C, H, N. Naproxen Acid Chloride (Nap-Cl). Naproxen (920 mg, 4 m o l ) was dissolved in 50 mL of toluene to which 5 mL of SOCl, was added. Two drops of DMF were added and the suspension was refluxed for 3 h. The mixture was evaporated in vacuo, stripped with toluene, and crystallized from dichloromethane/ hexane. The yield was 95% and the identity and purity were verified by MS, 'H NMR, TLC, IR, and elemental analysis. 'H NMR (CDClJ: b 7.8-7.1 (m, 6, aromatic), 4.1 (q,1, CHMe), 3.9 (s,3, CH,), 1.5 (d, 3, CH3C). IR (NaC1): 1785, 1600 cm-l. Anal. (C14H1302Cl): C, H, C1. Naproxen-Leucine-Lysozyme (cp. lb). (a) Preparation of the Ethyl Ester of Leucine. Leucine (1.3 g, 10 mmol) was suspended in 50 mL of absolute ethanol and the mixture was stirred at -5 OC. Two drops of DMF' were added. Thereafter 1.5 mL of thionyl chloride (1.6 g/mL, 20 mmol) was added, and the temperature was kept below 0 "C. The temperature was elevated to ambient. Thereafter the mixture was refluxed for 2 h. The solvent was evaporated in vacuo. Water was added and the pH was adjusted to 7-8 with NaHC03. The solution was extracted with 3 X 20 mL of dichloromethane. The organic layers were combined and washed with 2 X 15 mL of 0.5 M NaHC03. The organic phase was dried over anhydrous Na&304, filtered off, and evaporated in vacuo. (b) Synthesis of NJV'-Thionyldiimidazole. Imidazole (1.83 g, 25 mmol), previously dried over phosphorus pentoxide, was dissolved in 100 mL of dry THF; 0.44mL of thionyl chloride (714 mg,6 mmol) was added under a nitrogen atmosphere. The so-

+

(29) Bruins, A. p.; Covey, T. R.; Henion, J. D. Ion Spray Interface for Combined Liquid Chromatography/AtmosphericPressure Ionization Mass Spectrometry. Anal. Chem. 1987, 59, 2642. (30) Thomson, G. F.; Collins, J. M. Urinary Metabolic Profiles for

Choosing Test Animals for Chronic Toxicity Studies: Application to Naproxen. J. Pharm. Sci. 1973, 62, 937.

1256 Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 1992, Vol. 35, No.7

lution was stirred for 1.5 h. The precipitate formed was fiitered off. The filtrate was kept at 0 OC and immediately used for reaction c. (c) Synthesis of Naproxen-Leucine Ethyl Ester. Naproxen (1.38 g, 6 mmol) was dissolved in 10 mL of dry THF and added to the cooled freshly prepared N,"-thionyldiimidazole solution. The solution was placed in an ice/& bath (-5 OC) and was stirred for 0.5 h. Leucine ethyl ester (2.23 g, 6 mmol) was suspended in 10 mL of dry THF. The suspension was cooled on ice and thereafter slowly added to the naproxen-N,"-thionyldiimidazole solution. The mixture was stirred for 0.5 h. TEA (606 mg, 6 mmol), previously dissolved in a small portion of dry THF, was added. The reaction mixture was raised to ambient temperature and the mixture was stirred for 24 h. The mixture was filtered off and the filtrate was evaporated in vacuo to a final volume of 5 mL. The filtrate was acidified with 1 N HCl and diluted with a small portion of water (pH solution = 3). The product was extracted with 3 X 50 mL of dichloromethane. The organic layers were combined and washed with four portions of NaHCO, buffer (1 M, pH 9) to remove unreacted naproxen. The absence of unreacted naproxen (0.999. Noncovalently bound SM was assayed after mixing 1volume of the same solution with 2 volumes of acetonitrile. The samples were centrifuged for 2 min at 3000g. The supernatant (100 pL) was injected onto the HPLC column and further analyzed as described above. Fluorimetric Drug Assay. Drug content was determined by a selectiveand quantitativefluorimetric measurement of naproxen. Fluorescence was measured at an excitation wavelength of 330 nm and emission wavelength of 360 nm (Figure 1). Calibration lines were constructed by adding known amounts of naproxen to native lysozyme solutions. Number of Reacted Amino Groups of the Protein. Unreacted amino groups of the protein were estimated by the method of Habeeb.lG From these data the number of reacted, i.e. drug substituted, amino groups was calculated (lysozyme contains seven amino groups). Preparation of Male Rat Kidney Lysosomes. Male Wistar rata (250 g) were housed under a 12-h light/dark cycle in a temperature- and humidity-controlled rmm and were allowed to have free access to food and water. Three rata were anesthetized with Nembutal (60 mg/kg, intraperitonially). The kidneys were perfused with ice-cold 0.3 M sucrose via the abdominal aorta. The perfused kidneys were removed, after which the cortices were excised, pooled (3 rata), weighed, and homogenized in 8 volumes of 0.3 M sucrose (4 "C). Renal cortices were homogenized in a Potter-Elvehjem glass homogenizer by 10 complete strokes with a Teflon pestle rotating at approximately 250 rpm. All subsequent steps were carried out at 4 OC. The crude homogenate was centrifuged at 143g for 10 min to sediment nuclei and unbroken tissue. A 0.5-mL portion of the homogenate was set aside for analysis of protein and acid phosphatase activity. Lysosomes were isolated from the cortical homogenate by differential centrifugation as described by Maunsbach.= Briefly, nuclei and cell debris were removed by centrifugation at 143g for 10 min. The resulting supernatant was then centrifuged at 95OOg for 3 min (excluding acceleration and deceleration). This step produced a three-tiered pellet which consisted of lysosomes (bottom layer), mitochondria (middle layer), and brush border (top layer). The brush border and mitochondria were removed by gently pipetting several milliliters of 0.3 M sucrose into the tube and resuspending the upper two layers. The suspension containing the rinse of brush border and mitochondria was discarded. The remaining lysosomal layer was resuspended in 0.3 M sucrose and centrifuged at 95OOg for 3 min and the pellet was gently rinsed to remove any mitochondria. The remaining pellet was resuspended in 0.3 M sucrose buffer. The homagenates and lysosomal lysates were frozen and thawed 10 times in liquid

J . Med. Chem. 1992,35,1259-1266 N2to lyse the organelles. Protein content was measured by the method of Acid phosphatase activity was determined with /3-glycerophosphateas substrate by the method of Barrett.= Homogenates and lysosomal lysates were flash frozen in liquid N2 and stored at -80 "C. I n Vitro Lysosomal DegradationExperiments. Conjugates or derivatives were incubated with homogenate5 or lysosomal lysates at different pHs. Conjugates and derivatives were dissolved in appropriate solutes. Incubations contained 250 pL of the homogenate or 100 p L of the lysate and were diluted with a 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 5.0 or 7.4) to a final volume of 1.0 mL. The final concentrations of the conjugates and derivatives based on parent compound present in the incubation media were as follows hmo1.L-'): la-t, 10; h - g , 250; 3a-h, 600,4a, 5a, 6a, 2000; 7a-b, 75; 8a,b, 4; 9a-I-I11,4; loa-b, 70. The buffers contained a suitable internal standard for HPLC analysis (Chromatography Section). Samples (100 pL) were taken at various times and were diluted with either 2 volumes of ACN, 3 volumes of MeOH, or 1volume of 2 N HCl to precipitate proteins. Samples were placed on ice for 15 min and then centrifuged at 3000g for 2 min. The supernatants were injected into the HPLC (Tables I and 11). Peak ratios of derivative and parent compound were measured. The percentage parent compound generated, was calculated as R(PC, IS) X 100%/(R(Der, IS) + R(PC, IS)) where R(PC, IS) and R(Der, IS) refer to the ratio (R) of the peak areas of the parent compound (PC) and the internal standard (IS) and that of the peak areas of the derivative (Der) and IS, respectively. In the case of protein conjugates, release was calculated as the percentage of drug released from the *protein conjugate (the initial total amount of drug present in the incubation media was set 100%). ChromatographySection. TLC Analysis. TLC plates (silica gel 60F254,lO X 5 or 20 X 20 cm) were from Merck (Darmstadt, FRG). Eluents were v/v(/v) MeOH/dichloromethane (50/50); BuOH/water/HAc (35/ 10/5); 1,4-dioxane/water / HAC (35/ 10/ 51, and ethyl acetate/hexane/HAc (33/66/1). HPLC Analysis. The column was p-Bondapack C-18. The following eluent systems and flow rates were used I (a/b), water/ACN/concentrated HAC (60/40/1) at 1 (a) and 2 (b) mL/min; 11, water/ACN/concentrated HAC (70/30/1) at 1.5 mL/min; 111, phosphate buffer (67 mM, pH 7.O)IACN (70/30) at 1.5 mL/min; IV, phosphate buffer (67 mM, pH 7.0)/ACN

1259

(60/40)at 1mL/min, V, water/ACN/concentxated HAC(25/75/1) at 1.5 mL/min; VI, phosphate buffer (67 mM, pH 7.0)/MeOH (90/10) at 1mL/min; VI1 (a/b), phosphate buffer (15 mM, pH 5.O)/ACN (80/20) at 1 (a) and 1.5 (b) mL/min; VIII, water/ ACN/concentrated H3P04 (85/15/0.2) at 2 mL/min; IX, water/ACN/concentrated H3P04(90/10/0.2) at 2 mL/min; X, water/ACN (60/40) at 2 mL/min; XI, phosphoric acid (10 mM, pH 3.2)/ACN (70/30) at 1.5 mL/min. For the individual compounds the internal standards were (compound/internal standard) naproxen/sulfamethoxazole or 2-aminobenzoic acid, indomethacin/ flurbiprofen, benzoic acid/ salicylic acid and sulfamethoxazole/6-desmethylnaproxen. Detection was performed by UV at 254 nm (indomethacin, benzoic acid, triamterene), 206 nm (%Ala-Pro, ZPhaAla) or 260 nm (sulfamethoxazole)or by fluorescence (Aex, &,,I: naproxen (330,360 nm), adriamycin (470,560nm), or triamterene (365,440 nm). FPLC. Pure soluble naproxen-lysozyme (1:l)was obtained by chromatographyon the FPLC (Pharmacia). Mono-S HR 5/5 (Pharmacia) was used as cation exchanger. Proteins were separated by gradient elution: eluent A, 10 mM Tris HC1 (pH 7.4); eluent B, 10 mM Tris HCl (pH 7.4) and 1 M NaCl. The flow was 1.0 mL/min and the eluent program was as follows: 0-5 min, 20% B, (sample application at 3 min); 5-15 min, 20% 22.5% B; 15-19 min, 22.5% B; 19-20 min, 22.5% 20% B. On-line UV detection was performed at 280 nm for protein, and on-line selective fluorescence was done at excitation wavelength 330 nm and emission wavelength 360 nm for naproxen (Figure 2). Naproxen-lysozyme (0.51), stored at -20 "C, was dissolved in FPLC buffer (20% B). Undissolved protein was fiitered off and the filtrate was passed through a Millex-GV (0.2 pm) filter, prior to injection into the FPLC. During each run, 2.5 mg of protein was applied to the column and 1.2 mg of pure soluble naproxen-lysozyme (1:l)was obtained (0.2 mg/mL).

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Acknowledgment. This study was financially supported by the Technical Foundation (STW) of the Dutch Organization for ScientificResearch (NWO). We express our gratitude to J. Visser for technical assistance, R. Oosting for assistance during biological experiments, and Dr. C. Hoes and Dr. D. Grijpma for the donation of compounds. F. P. Baalman, H.W. Frijlink, G. Molema, and G. Odding are thanked for preliminary work. Dr. P. Dijkstra is thanked for valuable advice.

Potent and Systemically Active Aminopeptidase N Inhibitors Designed from Active-Site Investigation Marie-Claude FourniB-Zaluski, Pascale Coric, Serge Turcaud, Luce Bruetschy, Evelyne Lucas, Florence Noble, and Bernard P. Roques* Universitg Reng Descartes, UFR des Sciences Pharmaceutiques et Biologiques, Dgpartement de Chimie Organique, U266 INSERM-URA498 CNRS, 4, Avenue de l'observatoire, 75270 Paris Cedex 06. Received August 8,1991 Derivatives of amino acids bearing various zinc-coordinating moieties (SH, COOH, CONHOH, and P03H2)were synthesized and tested for their ability to inhibit aminopeptidaseN (APN). Among them, @-aminothiols were found to be the most efficient with ICm's in the 11-50 nM range. These results suggest that the S1subsite of APN is a deep but not very large hydrophobic pocket, optimally fitting side chains of moderate bulk endowed with some degree of freedom. The iv administration of the inhibitors, alone, did not induce antinociceptiveresponses on the hot plate test in mice. However, in presence of 10 mg/kg acetorphan,a prodrug of the neutral endopeptidase inhibitor thiorphan, these compounds gave a large increase in the jump latency time with ED,'s of 2 and 2.4 mg/kg for the disulfides and S-oxomethioninethiol [H2NCH(CH2CH2S(0)CH3)CH$]2, of methioninethiol [H2NCH(CH2CH2SCH3)CH2S], respectively. These resulta show that the disulfide forms of @-aminothiols are efficient prodrugs of aminopeptidase N inhibitors capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier.

Introduction The opioid peptides Met-enkephalin and Leu-enkephalin are degraded in the central nervous system by two zinc-metallopeptidases,neutral endopeptidase, NEP (EC

* T o whom correspondence should be addressed.

3.4.24.11)' and aminopeptidase N, APN (EC 3.4.11.2).2*3 It has been proposed that inhibitors of both peptidases (1) Roques, B. P.; FourniC-Zaluski,M. C.; Soroca, E.; Lecomta, J.

M.; Malfroy, B.; Llorens, C.; Schwartz, J. C. The enkephalinase inhibitor thiorphan shows antinociceptive activity in mice. Nature 1980,288, 286-288.

0022-2623/92/1835-1259$03.O0/0 0 1992 American Chemical Society